Part-time MBA program jumps 20 spots in ranking

The part-time MBA program offered by the College of Business and Economics (CBE) has been recognized as the nation’s 15th strongest and the third best in the Mid-Atlantic region in a survey by Bloomberg Businessweek.

The magazine ranked Lehigh’s program 35th nationally and fifth in the Mid-Atlantic region in 2009.

The survey is conducted every other year by the magazine’s editors, who analyze academic data and ask recent graduates about their MBA experience. 

This is the third consecutive time Lehigh has been ranked by the magazine as one of the highest performing part-time MBA programs at the national and regional levels. 

The survey results were released Nov. 10.

According to the editors, 99 programs from across the United States were ranked. Each had to meet a number of eligibility requirements in order to participate, such as GMAT scores, graduation completion rates, and length of professional work experience. Each program also had to be accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Twelve programs were ranked in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The CBE offers the only AACSB-accredited part-time MBA program in the Lehigh Valley.

“It is very gratifying to gain this recognition in the Bloomberg Businessweek rankings, by making a tremendously strong upward move,” said Andrew Ward, associate dean of graduate programs and the Charlot and Dennis E. Singleton ’66 Endowed Chair in Corporate Governance.

“Given that 70 percent of the ranking is based on the responses to the survey given by recent graduates of the program, I consider this ranking to be primarily a reflection of our students valuing the experience that they are receiving in the Lehigh MBA program.

“It is the student experience, and the impact that their experience has on their careers, that we are constantly seeking to improve. It is reaffirming to see our efforts to enhance the student experience reflected in this ranking.”